The Village Midwife: Antenatal Courses led by a midwife Reviews 

Lisa has been fantastic, with a huge number of resources, links and equipment to share with us throughout our antenatal classes, as well as providing a wonderful environment for us to meet other parents-to-be and share our own pregnancy experiences.

Lisa has been so amazing with both teaching the course and outside of the classes! As she has been there for me on multiple occasions, when I needed help and advice due to obstetric doctor's telling me I needed interventions, which I don't agree with and don't feel that I need. So she has been amazing and has helped me discuss my options and put the situation into perspective. As well as, helping me get a referral to the consultant Midwife, so I can have a birth that I want and I feel is right for me and my baby. Without Lisa and this fantastic antenatal course, my husband and I wouldn't feel anywhere near as confident, informed and able to question what the doctors' are telling us that we should do in our pregnancy. Lisa taught us that there is no such thing as 'you must do this!' Even though it has felt like that, on multiple occasions in my obstetric appointments. So I am extremely grateful for how amazing Lisa has been and for all her help and advice as a community midwife.

Thank you so much Lisa! I cannot wait to join you and the other lovely parents-to-be again, on the postnatal course, in a few months time!

Sophie , her courses, and all of her resources and networking really made pregnancy and parenting so much more comforting and reassuring. The information that I learned through Sophie and her networks gave me the confidence and knowledge I needed. She was always there to answer questions and to provide reassurance. She has a huge wealth of knowledge and is completely nonjudgemental so you feel like you can ask and tell anything. From the courses I have built a wonderful friendship group and I’m still using the Villiage Midwife resources. I honestly cannot express how valuable Sophie and her team are! I, without a doubt, would recommend.

What a great course. Mel it’s amazing, she’s really passionate about it, and that makes it really good. Her knowledge will helps us go trough birth
I will highly recommend this course.
We feel really happy about it, and did really help us. Thank you so much

We've just completed an antenatal course with Sophie and I'm so glad we went with her. We've come away feeling much more prepared for the arrival of our little one, with a lot more knowledge and a community to draw upon. Sophie's approach of providing all the facts without opinions was very welcome, as well as being realistic about the realities of parenting and challenges that may arise. It's clear she has a lot of experience and is very knowledgeable, and if she doesn't know something, she'll find out. We've also come away having met new parents in our local area which will be invaluable support in the coming months, and we are very much looking forward to the postnatal course!

My husband and I attended the antenatal course in the Worcester area with midwife Lisa. The course was so so helpful and informative and defiantly worth our while attending. Lisa is a brilliant midwife and her teaching has really widened our knowledge and understanding on the whole pregnancy journey and allowed us to feel a lot more comfortable and at ease with the choices to make. We also got to meet 5 other lovely expectant couples and it’s great to hear their thoughts/experiences too on their journeys.
We would highly recommend Lisa’s courses to any other expectant mommy’s and daddy’s to be as you really do get so much out of it. No question is ever looked over and Lisa is also there to help after the course via phone should you need.
Thank you Lisa, we shall definitely be back for the postnatal course!
Yasmin and Ryan

My husband and I finished our course a few weeks ago with Sophie. We learnt A LOT and we’re now feeling prepared for birth and beyond! Her knowledge is second to none and filled us with complete confidence. Sophie’s communication style is so lovely, always listened and understood our wishes, and gave her honest and invaluable advice where asked. It almost felt like we were having a chat with a close friend, we trust her completely. The passion for her job and creating the best outcomes for families just shines through. We really appreciate her continued support through email and WhatsApp, she checks in every so often out of her own kindness… we are just praying that she will be on shift when I give birth!!

If you’re feeling nervous about birth, then please do not hesitate to book this course, you’ll be in the safest hands.

We were a little nervous going with the Village Midwife antenatal courses rather than regular NCT but in the end so glad we did! Sophie is brilliant, knowledgeable, friendly and honest in her advice. Her bubbly personality makes it easy to dive straight into the difficult questions and discussions that matter. What we appreciated the most was her candour and advice around your rights as parents and the important advocacy role partners play. You can tell Sophie is incredibly passionate about upskilling and supporting new parents. We would 100% recommend her classes - oh and of course the selection of tea, biscuits and cute tote bags were a plus! Thank you Sophie!

We attended Aimee's antenatal classes in Leighton Buzzard and absolutely loved them. We were initially booked on for NCT and they were cancelled last minute but I’m so pleased they were because we got the opportunity to complete the village midwife course. Not only was Aimee extremely knowledgeable, she was empathetic and had no bias even with a midwife background!
She made us feel welcome upon entering the door and this continued for the whole duration of the course. I reached out to Aimee with a pregnancy concern that had been missed by a midwife and from her knowledge and experience she suggested to get checked out which resulted in a hospital admission so I’m very grateful for her amazing expertise!
The information was always informative and Aimee always made it personable to those who attended to make it relevant to our experiences. We learnt so much and a key for us was knowing our rights during labour and medical advice and this was all thanks to Aimee. I would fully recommend this course in a heart beat - Aimee you’re amazing!

Thank you,
Daniella & Scott

Sophie is so brilliant. Honest, so knowledgeable and wants you to choose what’s best for you, never pushing a preferred way. I feel a lot more prepared for birth and the fourth trimester having been on this course.

Sophie is amazing. Her wealth of knowledge and the way she delivers this has been more useful that we could ever have imagined. We're going into parenthood as ready as we can be thanks to Sophie! We've loved the antenatal classes she has provided and so glad we did them with the Village Midwife. Thoroughly recommend- thank you Sophie, excited to start the postnatal sessions!

I had been researching antenatal classes for a while and wasn’t sure if we should go to NCT classes or The Village Midwife, I’m SO glad we went with the Village Midwife. Sophie’s antenatal (and Postnatal) classes were fantastic, the main difference between her classes and NCT classes are that she is a midwife and can give incredibly helpful advice and teach you a lot about the whole process and the choices you have. Her wealth of experience clearly shines through and I felt very confident with the whole idea of giving birth (I was absolutely terrified before!) My husband and I met lots of lovely expectant parents and we are still in touch with them now, it was also really great have the classes split up into bite size sessions as there is a lot covered. I would also throughly recommend the postnatal course too as I really looked forward to each session with my new baby!

My husband and I would absolutely recommend The Village Midwife; we really enjoyed the experience, and can honestly say it is worth every penny!

Laura, who ran our classes, was an absolute delight. Friendly, down to earth, extremely approachable, compassionate, understanding, and an absolute fount of knowledge! Her enthusiasm, energy and passion for the subject kept the classes engagingly up beat, and all her insightful know how, advice, tips, honest yet positive information was absolutely fantastic. It really did cover what it was advertised (off the website).

It was so thorough, yet clear, every question was answered, and it was just nice to be able to actually talk everything through - sometimes reading this and that, can get a bit much, but actually hearing things discussed, and with an actual midwife, details finally found context. It was excellent.

We had two full day sessions along with a zoom meeting evening; each day was packed full of information, a few activities, and then followed up with emails of really useful links. We couldn't have hoped for more from the program...

Both myself and my husband, (birth partner), found it useful, and empowering in different ways; we were both actively included and involved within the classes, it was definitely worth us both being there! Plus, it was a lovely experience to share the classes 'together'.

One of the most refreshing things that struck us both though, was the positivity, the options that you have, and how encouraging the information was. Everything felt 'pro', and we've finished the classes feeling far more capable and calmer about so much. We've also been able to finalise some decisions, thanks to the information provided from the course.

Genuinely, The Village Midwife is brilliant and we cannot recommend it enough - everyone should have access to this type of support next work.

We had Laura the Melton Mowbray Village Midwife - she was amazing! Her classes were fun, informative and interactive. Her expertise and knowledge is fantastic and this greatly benefited us and the rest of the class. We found her so approachable and kind. We learned a huge amount during the course and are so very grateful we got to have this experience. We highly recommend this to any parents-to-be. Thank you Laura!!! X

Me and my husband attended the antenatal course held by Gemma in Chalfont St Peter which we really enjoyed! The course was really informative, interactive and fun, exceptionally useful to those about to be first time parents like we are. Gemma gave a lot of support not only during the sessions but also on hand to answer any questions outside of the course and post course which was lovely to know you could still continue to receive. Highly recommend The Village Midwife and in particular Gemma who is incredibly bubbly and knowledgable

The Village Midwife - Gemma Connell

My husband and I did our antenatal course with Gemma at Chalfont St Peter. Gemma is fantastic she makes you feel at ease and gives you so much knowledge not just in person but her weekly emails are brilliant. I came away with a focused mind on my birth plan, knowledge gained and confidence grown. Each class was interactive and lots of biscuits to enjoy! She made us feel relaxed and comfortable to ask questions. We enjoyed the practical experiences too. I would highly recommend Gemma’s class. She is the perfect midwife to give you confidence in this chapter into parenthood. A big thank you to Gemma from us and bump!

My husband and I completed a Village Midwife antenatal course with Aimee. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience and when it finished we felt so informed and much more confident about our upcoming birth and being able to look after our child once they arrive. Aimee was just wonderful, we can’t thank her enough. She was always so warm, friendly and approachable, and imparted her vast knowledge without pushing any agendas. She always invited questions and went out of her way to provide the most useful answers. Aimee was so kind in giving us support outside of hours too, always providing comprehensive information in a positive way. The course was well-structured and the information provided was invaluable. We were sad when the course ended, but left with new friends made. All our thanks go to Aimee and The Village Midwife. We would recommend this course to everyone.

The course offered insights into labour and birth from a currently practicing midwife; this was invaluable and really sets it apart from other alternatives in the area. Sophie left no stone unturned and didn’t, in any way, push an agenda or a particular set of ideas. Her ambition was for us to be as informed and empowered as possible at a time when we are at our most vulnerable. In addition to the packed face-to-face course, we received resources and practical solutions to work through in our own time. We couldn’t fault The Village Midwife; we feel incredibly lucky to have secured a place on this brilliant course.

What a wonderful experience. As a guy being told I’m doing four 4-hour face to face sessions and two 2-hour zoom sessions, I was a bit unsure how I would get on taking in the information…

But, actually I’m going to miss doing them. I’ve learnt so much and wasn’t overloaded at all. Sophie didn’t pick on the guys and made us realise how important our role is pre, during and post birth.

I fell so well prepared and now have a network of people to talk with about our experiences.

Thanks so much.

My husband and I have just finished Sophie's Antenantal Course and we could not be more delighted with our experience.

Sophie is a warm, friendly and engaging speaker, whose passion and love for all things pregnancy, birth and post-partum shines through.

What struck us most was her care and her desire to ensure that we felt as well-informed and supported as possible.

We are so pleased that we went with this course and I am so thrilled that I have also booked the Postnatal Course too.

Sophie, thank you so much for helping us to feel informed and reassured. We will be recommending The Village Midwife to anyone who will listen!

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Had a great experience with Aimee for our antenatal classes. Very attentive, knowledgeable and provided me with confidence in my first pregnancy journey. Answered all questions and created a respectful and open environment for people to share and ask questions (even if it may have seemed like common sense). Would definitely recommend to all first time mums or those who want a refresher.

Lastly, the classes have created a little network with other mums and couples who partook so it’s great to have others to lean on and talk too (as well as Aimee) going through the same thing and to be able to meet up for lunch and coffee!